Lucky Star 2: Konata's Quest
, also referred to as , is a 1988 maniac shooter arcade game developed by Drillimation Studios and published by Namco. Gameplay The gameplay is exactly the same from the previous installment. The game features two playable characters: Konata Izumi and Kagami Hiiragi. Konata uses thin electric bullets for attack, while Kagami uses fireballs for attack. Players can charge up their attacks by collecting power items. Plot It's been a stardawn since Dr. Manhole was defeated, and Dr. Manhole is revived again. Konata's Stage 1 The game starts off Konata escaping her home from her abusive father and finds a will-o-the-wisp that leads her to the Takanomiya Shrine. When arriving, Konata encounters Kagami for the first time, and Kagami tells Konata that none of her friends are going to Ryou Gakuen High School of Magic and Drilling, and Kagami decides to share some friendship with her, and accidentally shoots a fire barrage at Konata, which Tadao saves her from. Kagami ends up getting punished, but Konata saves her by escaping the shrine and out for an adventure. Kagami's Stage 1 The game starts off with Kagami using her gohei to create a will-o-the-wisp that will randomly appear to attract someone to the Takanomiya Shrine. While waiting, Kagami works on the shrine while defeating enemies. After someone arrives, the girl in the beautiful blue hair introduces herself to Kagami as Konata. When Kagami finds out that none of Konata's friends from her junior high school is coming to Ryou Gakuen High School of Magic and Drilling, she decides to share some friendship with her. She uses her gohei to create "warm, fiery friendliness bullets". After accidentally hitting her, Tadao saves Konata while Kagami ends up getting punished, but Konata saves her by escaping the shrine for an adventure. Stage 2 When nighttime falls on Kasukabe, Team Ankoku becomes stronger. As Konata or Kagami progresses, they encounters a rock that turns out to be a Team Ankoku hacker. She reveals its name to Konata/Kagami as Carmica. Both Konata/Kagami and Carmica engage in a brief duel. Stage 3 It's still nighttime, and it's around the morning hours. The sun hasn't risen yet, and Konata finds out that a curse is preventing the sun from rising, and it turns out to be a Team Ankoku hacker named Danny Wreath. After engaging in a duel, it instantly becomes daytime, starting the next day. Stage 4 It's daytime again, and Konata/Kagami is strolling down a street until they find a man next to a young girl, with the man asking for directions, making Konata figure out that it's that girl's father, or Kagami finding out her twin sister is about to be kidnapped, thus making it the first appearance of Tsukasa Hiiragi in the games. The man reveals his name to be "Foreigner" (actually, his name is James Rolfe, marking it Rolfe's first appearance in The Drillimation Series), and either Konata or Kagami face off in a fight against him. After defeating "Foreigner", Konata introduces herself to Tsukasa and finds out that Tsukasa is the twin sister to Kagami, and they become friends. Stage 5 After defeating Rolfe and saving Tsukasa, Konata/Kagami continues down the road and ends up into a grassy field, and encounters Keel Sark from a distance, making it the second time Konata's dueled Sark, and Kagami's first time. Before the duel, Konata/Kagami finds out that Dr. Manhole was revived again, and that Konata must defeat him again. Kagami has never battled Dr. Manhole before, and wants to seal him with an ofuda. Stage 6 Konata enters Dr. Manhole's fortress for the second time, while Kagami enters for the first time. Konata/Kagami run down his fortress and after a defeating a lot of Team Ankoku hackers, Konata encounters Dr. Manhole again, while Kagami encounters him for the first time. Ending After defeating Dr. Manhole, if the player did not use continues, the player will be presented with the good ending. Konata can be seen returning home after her long adventure. Kagami can be seen working on the Takanomiya Shrine when she receives a mysterious letter from Ryou Gakuen High School of Magic and Drilling, asking them to join the Animation Research Club. If the player did use continues, the player will be presented with the bad ending. If playing as Konata, Konata tries to find Kagami, and when finding her, Konata tries to wake her up, but she finds out she was killed by a Team Ankoku hacker. Konata begins to cry on her, despite seeing her only once. If playing as Kagami, Kagami can be seen lost trying to find a way out, but encounters a Team Ankoku hacker who then kills her. Characters Player Characters *'Konata Izumi' - The beautiful blue-haired lottie and protagonist of the game. Also appears as the stage 1 boss if the player is playing as Kagami. *'Kagami Hiiragi' - A shrine maiden of the Takanomiya Shrine who befriends Konata. Also appears as the stage 1 boss if the player is playing as Konata. Enemy Characters *'Carmica' - Stage 2 boss. A female mage who uses regenerating blood cells to attack. *'Danny Wreath' - Stage 3 boss. A Team Ankoku hacker from the United States who uses the Killing Curse to attack enemies. *'James Rolfe' - Stage 4 boss. A foreigner who tries to find directions, and attempts to kidnap people and make them play LJN games. *'Keel Sark' - Stage 5 boss. Reappearing from the previous game, a ninja who is one of the admins of Team Ankoku working for Dr. Manhole. *'Dr. Manhole' - Final Stage boss. The headmaster of Team Ankoku who killed Kanata Izumi when Konata was an infant. Reception The game mainly received positive reviews, with a few less points than the first game. Kagami's death was considered to be one of the saddest endings in video game history, making it one of the few scenes that was never showcased in the Magical Girl Team Lucky Star anime. Famitsu scored the game a 34/40. The game was nominated for a Game of the Year Award for Best Female Protagonist, but never won.